Issue - meetings

The Head of Planning and Regeneration presented the draft high Quality Design Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for the committee’s consideration.  The report supplemented a number of policies within the Borough of Redditch Local Plan No. 4 (BORLP4).  The SPD had been considered by the Planning Advisory Panel (PAP) and the points raised by Members during meetings of this body had informed the content of the document.  Officers were seeking to undertake a period of public consultation, the outcomes from which would be reported for the consideration of the Executive Committee in due course.  It was anticipated that this consultation would last for at least six weeks.

Following the presentation of the report Members discussed the SPD and questioned the extent to which parking provision in residential developments was addressed. Concerns were raised that in recent years parking provision available to developments had been considered inadequate by some residents and this had led to complaints being made to their local Councillors. The Committee was advised that under previous legislation and guidance Councils had been required to encourage developers to design houses in a way that would enable use of more sustainable methods of transport. National guidance had subsequently changed, with greater emphasis now being placed on the role of the developer in determining parking requirements alongside other considerations.  However, parking was not a key focus of this particular SPD.

The existence of a local list of heritage buildings was also discussed.  The Committee was advised that this did not form part of the SPD, though a local list had been approved at a previous meeting of the Committee and was available to view from the Council’s website.

RESOLVED that

the public consultation for the draft High Quality Design SPD be approved.